Coffee With The Lord

Wow! I’m Looking forward to the wonderful future God has prepared for His people!!  This morning I read about it prophetically in the last part of Isaiah 65 this morning and savored every word!!  I mean, just imagine what it will be like!!!  (I’ve included a “taste” of it below from the New Living Translation” … Enjoy!!

“Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! … The sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young! … For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the LORD, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! … I, the LORD, have spoken!” (from Isaiah 65:17-25 NLT)

And if that isn’t awesome enough check out Revelation 21-22 in your Bible – it expands on the picture that Isaiah painted, inspired by the Holy Spirit!!!  Wow!!!

Hey, a time like this is coming for the people of God – those who know the Lord personally and are living their lives to honor Him (cp. 2 Peter 3:11-13)!!  It’s going to happen… as the passage declares… “The Lord has spoken!”

Here’s a couple of good questions for Christians:  Am I using or abusing my freedom in Christ?  Am I flaunting or facilitating the freedom I have to serve others?…

This came to mind as I read Apostle Paul’s words this morning…

“THOUGH I AM FREE AND BELONG TO NO ONE, I HAVE MADE MYSELF A SLAVE TO EVERYONE, TO WIN AS MANY AS POSSIBLE. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I DO ALL THIS FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL, that I may share in its blessings.” (From 1 Corinthians 9:19–23 NIV)

I don’t know about you, but I want to use the freedom I have in Christ to serve others and effectively communicate the gospel to them, don’t you?

A periodic devotional reflection on leadership from Scripture…

What is a key responsibility of a middle-management leader? How about the responsibility of a successor to a “founder” type leader?

I’d like to suggest one key responsibility is defending and sustaining the core values of the organization. In my Bible reading this morning I read the story of how Aaron, Moses brother, left in charge of the Israelite congregation, sabotaged the core values that had recently been introduced by Moses and embraced by the entire Israelite congregation. (Exodus 32). What a failure in leadership! What a lack of integrity! What a spiritual wimp! What a critical leader lesson for those who aspire to be effective middle-management leaders or successors to “founder-leaders”!

Here are a few observations from the story that came to mind… (You may think of others…)

1) Left in charge, Aaron apparently, in his desire for acceptance (or his fear of rebellion among the rank-and-file”), compromised the core values of the organization.

2) It appears that the compromising strategy might have been an idea Aaron might have entertained earlier (given the speed with which it appears he suggested it).

3) What Aaron saw as simply a compromise, in order to deal with an emerging crisis or rebellion, actually led to a loss of control and the forfeiture of his ability to effectively lead the group.

4) Although Aaron apparently didn’t grasp it at the time, his lack of leadership – his failure to defend the core values that the Israelites had just embraced – actually undermined their unique identity as God’s chosen people – exclusively followers of Jehovah.

5) Aaron’s lack of integrity and failure as a leader, when brought under scrutiny, revealed itself in mere self-preservation and lies, thus disqualifying himself as an authentic, gifted leader who exhibited integrity.

All of this leads to two additional warnings to those of us who lead…

1. If you are a middle-management leader or the “successor” to a gifted or founding leader, you have an ethical responsibility to defend and protect from sabotage the core values of the organization!
2. If you are a key leader, be very careful about who you select as middle-management leaders and successors… do your best to assure yourself that they wholeheartedly embrace the core values of your organization.

Just an important “leadership lesson” that impressed itself on me today during “coffee with the Lord” … hope it helps somebody with leadership responsibility today. 🙂